Lauren's husband, Dr. Larry Glassman, was the surgeon behind Kate Gosselin's tummy tuck surgery, Jon said -- and the two women are tight with the couple.

"Since the surgery we've become friendly with the Glassmans," Gosselin said of the women, who were snapped by photogs as they shopped with Jon at ritzy Louis Vuitton and Godiva stores in New Jeresy's Riverside Square Mall and downed beers in upstate New York over Memorial Day weekend.

Kate spent the holiday weekend and the better part of last week in Bald Head Island, N.C., with her kids, along with the TLC camera crews from "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and her bodyguards in tow.

Jon Gosselin has been plagued by rumors of infidelity since reports surfaced that he was cheating on Kate with 23-year-old teacher Deanna Hummel -- who also claimed she was "just friends" with the reality star.

The show's fifth-season premiere, during which Kate and Jon admitted there was a possibility they would split up, drew nearly 10 million viewers for TLC.